Defeating The Resistance Monster & Making $h!t Happen

I’m typing this blog up today as I watch it rain outside. Not the thunder and lightning kind of rain—just a gentle afternoon shower that cools off the smoking hot temps this time of year.

Yep, summers in Florida can get so hot, and that’s one of many ways I face The Resistance Monster.

“It’s too hot, I can’t do that right now.” Have excuses like that crept up on you too?

Or how about, “ugh, I just don’t feel like doing that” or “maybe tomorrow will be better to work on that?”

That discouraging, nasty, intrusive, nagging little voice in your head and mine whispers these things—sometimes screams them—but you know with your whole heart and soul that to make things happen, You NEED to ignore it.

Well, that’s what I call The Resistance Monster. And it’s one of the biggest barriers that stand in your way and my way.

Have you heard of the old saying, “You are your own worst enemy?”

Ha! Yes, it’s true. Think about it!

Whether you have health or weight goals…or you’re striving to be more successful at work…or maybe it’s a project you’re wanting to achieve…or something you started and need to finish. Whatever activity you and I take on, whatever goal we create for ourselves, at some point we’re going to face The Resistance Monster.

Sad, but it’s totally true. And that’s why I’m writing this up. I think it’s critical to know the ways it gets you so you can resistance-proof yourself.

One BIG way it gets me is when I get overwhelmed…too overwhelmed and I become complacent. My brain literally shuts down that challenge and thinks up some other activity that’s easier. Then it convinces me that that’s the more important thing to busy myself with, but I know in my heart it’s not.

I’m at a place where I can’t see the forest for the trees (so to speak) but achieving my goals means facing those damn trees!

So I remind myself that if it were so easy, everyone on the planet would be doing it. And that helps with me being better equipped to fight back against this Resistance Monster. It’s up to me to either let it stand in my way or move it out of my way!

I’m gonna share a couple ways that have been very helpful in fighting through It. As a small caveat though, there’s going to be times you hand your Monster it’s butt, however, there’s also going to be times it bites back. You’re human, I’m human…so let’s take perfection right off our plate. Ok?

One of the ways that you can work through conquering the ole RM when you get overwhelmed or you’re so stressed and you don’t know what’s the next step to take or how to even go about taking it is to break things down into smaller goals. It’s time to shrink down that activity or whatever it is you’re working on and make into something more doable. Easier.

Let’s say, for example you want to lose weight but you just don’t know where to start. You know that you need to get your diet right. You know you need to exercise. And you know you need to make some other healthy lifestyle changes. But what do you do first instead of getting overwhelmed and letting the RM win? It’s time to create a timeline/outline (draw it out!) and then jot down all these goals that are part of the ONE BIG GOAL.

Since I’m using the ‘losing weight’ example, let’s be more specific. Not just the vague losing weight goal, but how much exactly do you want to lose? Let’s go with 20 pounds. Now draw a straight line across your paper and at the beginning of the line write out “Need to Lose 20 Pounds.” Then at the end point of the line, write, “Lost 20 pounds.”

Now, move forward from the starting point and jot down everything it will take to get to the finish line.

A couple spaces away, draw a peg and write “DIET”. Then a few more spaces down, “EXERCISE.”

Then another one says “SUPPLEMENTS” and another one reads “LIFESTYLE.”

Maybe there’s another one that says something else, like stress, environment, relationships, career, or even spirituality.

Alright, so now does that still seem overwhelming? Maybe a little less? We still have a little more to do before it feels even easier. It’s time to break down each one of those tags and create another timeline if you need to.

So for example, we’ll start with diet. Draw out another line and at the beginning say something like my diet stinks and at the end write my diet rocks. Now let’s write out all the points it’ll take to get from start to finish with the diet. Maybe that first peg says, Reduce Processed Food (or eat less fast/convenience food). The next marker can say, Limit Sugar (especially refined sugar). Another one can read, Quit Drinking Diet Soda| Artificial Sweet drinks. That kind of falls into the processed category, but really it’s a beverage so it’s going to have its own spot on my timeline. You can really put whatever point you have to work on and you can rearrange the order any time. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Perhaps another area is that you need to work on having less starches overall. And add in more protein, etc.

Now I’m at an easier starting point with losing those 20 pounds. I’ve removed all the other categories and my sole focus is my diet. There are two ways to go from here: ALL-IN or BABY STEPS. All-In gets you faster results but be careful because it’s easier to backslide that way. Baby Steps will take you longer (think one change at a time, or maybe one meal you clean up at a time) but a lot of people find it is easier to maintain the healthier changes made along the way.

It’s really all about how you want to tackle it.

No matter how you do it, I’m a huge believer of detoxing at least the first 7 days. This will reset your body, cleanse your liver and digestive tract, and accelerate your progress moving forward, no matter what pace you choose to move at. If losing weight is one of your goals, then you totally gotta check out my book: Healthy, Crazy, Beautiful. It includes a 30-day Challenge and walks you through each week step-by-step. The first week is detox week and I share all the info, tips, and tricks you need to get through it and get RAPID RESULTS.

Now, we still have all the other categories on our original timeline that we’re going to have to get back to. Write out a timeline/outline just like we did above for each one of them. By breaking it down into something smaller, it can really help you overcome the Resistance Monster. So when you have that moment feeling totally overwhelmed, take a step back and break it on down!

Now let’s talk about a different type of RM. You’re working on something and you’ve been super productive for several days, maybe a solid week or even longer, and now you’re burning out. You’re losing gumption and of course the Resistance Monster is going to strike.

The best way to tackle it when you’re totally brain fried is you gotta stop what you’re working on and steal a little time for yourself. You know, a self-care activity. Maybe you want to go get your nails done. Spend a little time at the beach breathing in that salty air. Or you want to go get a massage. Go for a bike ride. Take a walk around the block. Go watch that movie you’ve been wanting to see. Whatever can revamp your mind from total exhaustion. Any kind of outlet that shifts the balance of you burning out to you taking care of yourself.

Taking that break and recharging your batteries boosts your ability to overcome that nasty RM. Meeting it head-on and recognizing you are burning out, then shifting gears to take really good care of yourself totally restores your mind, body, and soul. Yes, I get it—if we were all perfect we would all be taking super amazing care of ourselves every single day. So you just gotta do the best you can and embrace how important self-care is. You should NOT feel guilty—ever. That’s something I used to struggle with too. I love this quote (can’t remember who told me this) but I’ve never forgotten it.

When you’re on a plane and getting ready to take off the flight attendants go over all the emergency protocols…and if the oxygen masks fall…who do you put it on FIRST?

YOURSELF!

And then you can help those around you with their masks! So never forget that to be your best for others you have to be your best for YOU!

Promise me you’ll practice with this and do the best you can to keep a good balance in your life. And by that I mean you’re not just laying around all the time doing nothing every day—that’s a whole different LAZY Monster and not what self-care is! Sure, getting rest is good, but staying productive is just as important.

Another Resistance Monster I encounter is the one that comes after going on vacation. You know, the RM that’s lurking and waiting for you the moment you return and have to get back to work. After all that relaxing and adventure, it sure is hard getting back on track. Trust me, I know all to well too. But pushing through that mental barrier and reminding yourself that that vacation was a reward and to have more of them you must create the healthy “trade off” of working and being productive. And I know I want more of them—a lot more! Don’t you?

With all these Resistance Monsters…whether you’re overwhelmed, burned out, or just trying to bust through “vacation brain”…the struggle is real and recognizing it and being prepared for it are critical in overcoming It.

Simply being a solo entrepreneur is such a struggle for me. So many things to do and different ideas in my head and I don’t know where to start a lot of time. If I’m not careful my RM will strike as soon as I get overwhelmed and then I feel totally lost and frustrated. I have to immediately start breaking down my ideas, using my timeline/outline method until it’s small enough that I can see a more clear vision to move forward. However, another great piece of advice if you work on your own like I do is to have an accountability partner. Someone you can call even if they’re not in your line of work and can help get you motivated again.

Always be mindful and cautious of the Resistance Monster and the various ways that that it can come get you. You’re the only one who knows when it’ll strike…and you’re the only one who can fight it off.
You can totally fight it too! No matter what, life keeps us moving forward. So I say let’s keep fighting and taking action for what we truly want most.

What are some ways you fight the Resistance Monster? Have you tried any of the ones I talked about above?

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